DuckSouth.com

March 8, 2006

Analysts: Ole Miss job lacks appeal of others

School struggles to compete with facilities, but state is a leader in prep talent

By Robbie Neiswanger
rneiswanger@clarionledger.com

OXFORD — Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone is conducting a "wide open" search to find a replacement for basketball coach Rod Barnes.

But one college basketball expert, CBSSportline.com senior writer Greg Doyel, doesn't believe Boone will get much feedback from well-known candidates.

"Ole Miss is not a great job," Doyel said. "It's the kind of job that somebody young and with ambition and doesn't know any better than to think they can go in and win.

"I'll tell you right now, I don't think you can win at Ole Miss without cheating."

Doyel doesn't believe Barnes or former coach Rob Evans cheated. Or that the new coach will, either. But Doyel is one of two national college basketball analysts that offered some insight into the perception of the Ole Miss opening on Tuesday.

Boone announced that Barnes wouldn't be retained last Friday. Barnes is 141-107 in his eight-year career but hasn't guided the Rebels into the NCAA Tournament since the 2001-02 season.

While Doyel said getting back to the Big Dance is a tall task, Mike DeCourcy, college basketball analyst for The Sporting News, said it's not impossible. But DeCourcy said the Ole Miss job still doesn't compare to other openings at Indiana and Missouri.

"I don't think people look at Ole Miss and say, 'No way. No way I can win there,'" DeCourcy said. "But if you took a hot young coaching candidate and gave him the list of all the openings that exist right now, Ole Miss is not ranking up there with Indiana. It doesn't have the facilities thing fixed like Missouri does. But it does have a better talent base than Missouri has. Missouri has that constant problem of, where do you get guys?

"Ole Miss doesn't have that. But getting the guys there is the question."

Boone said he's looking for a strong recruiter that also is "extremely good with X's and O's." Ole Miss hired a search firm, Champ Search, and Boone set no timetable for making a hire.

Boone said building a competitive program at Ole Miss is achievable. And he's confident the Rebels will find a capable coach.

"I think coaches are looking for where they can fit very well," Boone said. "I don't think it's necessarily got to be a 13,000-seat arena. I think it's where they feel like they can come in and be successful.

"Someone that might be a great fit for Missouri might not work here as well."

Boone said Ole Miss will be attractive to someone interested in coaching in the SEC. He also believes Tad Smith Coliseum, when the Rebels are winning, is intimidating. And Boone said Ole Miss will offer a salary "right in the hunt" with the rest of the SEC.

Doyel said Ole Miss and Oxford will remain a tough recruiting sell. And DeCourcy believes Tad Smith Coliseum must get up to "SEC standards." But DeCourcy believes Ole Miss can find a successful coach.

"Find the (coaches) who are just waiting to explode," DeCourcy said. "And, believe me, it's not as hard to do as people think. It's just not done very often."

The only candidate Boone has mentioned is Ole Miss assistant Tracy Dildy. Dildy has expressed interest in the job and, when asked if he'd be interviewed, Boone said "absolutely."

In addition, Cincinnati interim coach Andy Kennedy has expressed interest, while Ole Miss representatives reportedly attended the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Sunday to watch South Alabama coach John Pelphrey.

Another candidate, Alabama-Birmingham's Mike Anderson, has declined to comment about job speculation. But Anderson's close friend and former boss at Arkansas, Nolan Richardson, said he hadn't heard of anything regarding Ole Miss and Anderson.

But then again, Doyel said Ole Miss shouldn't expect any of the big names.

"They're not going to say to themselves, 'Who is winning right now in the SEC? Or who is winning in a comparable league? Let's go get that guy,'" Doyel said. "That guy's not coming.

"It will have to be John Pelphrey. It will have to be Andy Kennedy if he can't do any better than Cincinnati. It will have to be a guy like that that has won at a smaller school. Because it won't be anybody established."

I don't like Ole Piss any more than the next State fan but that is just harsh. Barnes did well for his first few years w/out cheating. They may have been the previous coach's talent but still that was harsh.

Don't think that UM didn't dish out some money to pull in the Provine Posse that year.

So that's at least one occasion we all know of.

Greenhead22 wrote:Don't think that UM didn't dish out some money to pull in the Provine Posse that year.

So that's at least one occasion we all know of.

Man you are something else...you will say and/or imply ANYTHING no matter how much substance it has....Rod Barnes paying someone is about as homer a leg-humper statement as ever been spoken...

And you are mighty fine a fan to be talking about cheating basketball programs.

I didn't say that Rod paid them..........I said they were given some incentive to come to UM, whether it was boosters, alumni, etc.

Are you implying that MSU has cheated in basketball? If so, please show me facts or newspaper articles to back up your statement.

That CL article is a hatchet job on Ole Miss ---or a mugging ---pure and simple.

Why quote some "analyst" with such highly negative comments about UM at the outset of our coaching search? Why does this guy have any more credibility than say Dick Vitale, who thinks the UM job would be great for the current interim Cinncinnati coach Kennedy? There are many other "analysts" who would say the the Ole Miss job is one which will attract a good number of highly qualified candidates. Why not quote them?

And how asinine to say that one cannot win at UM without cheating. WTF?

We did win. Under Rob Evans ---2 West Division Titles in a row. And a third West title under Barnes, with a run to the Sweet Sixteen. There was a five year stretch in which UM had the best SEC win record and the most division titles. Even if we were to go back and look at a ten year period from today, UM would hold its own. And where is the evidence that any of this was accomplished by cheating? I have not seen it. (And GH22, just for the record, it is not enough for you to just say it is so. ).

I cannot believe that the CL would run such an unnecessarily negative article that presents nothing really new or newsworthy about UM's coaching search. And this hatchet job appears the same week as the overblown story about the two minor alcohol offenses by a couple of UM athletes, complete with pictures of Coach O and Coach Bianco, stats on old reported offenses, and loaded with inferences of programs out of control. Again, WTF?

I normally laugh at those who think the CL is out to get their school, labeling them paranoid and overly defensive. But, with respect to this article (and with the backdrop of the alcohol article earlier this week), I can offer no legitimate journalistic reason such an article was written. It is quite clear that the author of this article was simply trying to create controversy to sell a few newspapers. It is sad that our state's newpaper has resorted to this type of sensationalistic reporting. Good grief, enough is enough.

There will be enough legitimate bad news for all three major state universities during any year to satisfy the CL's apparent lust to report bad news and break scandals. In the meantime, between such legitimate bad events, there should be no need to go out and create bad things out of essentially nothing. During such times, why not report on the good things going on in the state of Mississippi? How about a front page article about DSU's recent basketball success? Or front page articles about our 2 nationally ranked baseball teams in the state (MSU and Ole Miss) and how the season is going so far for each? Or feature some of the state's best college baseball players? Or a front page pre-SEC tourney feature on MSU's hot young players (Rhodes, Gordon), the impact they have had this season to give the MSU fans hope, and their thoughts and prospects of success in the upcoming tourney? How about an article on Rod Barnes, and his thoughts about his last game(s) as the Reb coach heading into the tourney? How about a big preview and early report on football spring training at MSU, USM, UM? Or a story on UM's highly ranked tennis team and the outstanding job Coach Chadwick has done over the years? Or an article featuring USM basketball coach Eustachy, and his thoughts about the season just completed, heading into the Conf. USA tourney, re what went wrong, prospects for better days in the future, progress being made with the program, etc.?

The point of all this? There are so many potential legitimate sports stories of interest involving Mississippi teams out there, that it defies logic and reason as to why the CL would resort to creating bad news about UM for its front page story (or any page). Such is unfair and a disservice to Ole Miss, and to the other in-state schools whose teams and players are not receiving the good coverage they deserve.

I'm off my stump now. That feels better.

Unless its a "in the family" guy, Ole Miss is a stepping stone program the theory is that Ole Miss will not pay for a good coach or not to keep him if they find one. The facilities are aging and subpar to most in a very competative league that starting to like its bling. And while the talent in Miss is very good, it took a bunch of Arkie kids shunned by the evil Nolan to give ya'll some good teams.

I want every game in the SEC tough be a tough win, it helps the conference in the long run and prevent folks from overlooking "easy wins" and getting embarassing losses.

Evil Nolan once said he couldn't recruit to Fayetteville after he went senile, thats after being one of the top ten winningest prgrams in the ninties, several elite eights, four final fours, and a Nat Championship. God, I'm sure glad he wasn't coaching at Memphis. They'd be Dook.

Where in the world did you get the notion that Arkie talent is better than the kids right here in MS? If MS wasn't so football minded (and I am glad it is), there would be even more available talent from the Magnolia State. Never heard Arkie land mentioned when it came to recruiting on a large scale whether it was football, basketball, baseball, or tiddly winks. Athletic talent in MS is as good per capita as TX, FL, and LA. (Florida no doubt the best in baseball talent year in and out) My two cents.........

Never said Arkie Talent was better, what I said was during that good run by Ole Miss several payers from Ark were catalyst. Nolan wouldn't recruit ARk talent unless they were a McDonalds all american. Noaln and the Arkie AAU folks didn't get along too well. After the NC Nolan though he could just ask kids to come here without staying on them hard, Get this he wasn't even recruiting Ronnie Brewer out of spite he though he didn't have to, which was one of the thigs that led to the big blow up. He did the same thing with Nick Bradford and he went to Kansas becasue of that angry old negro.

And there is plenty of talent in Miss, Ark recruits there and its not Ole Miss they compete with its Mephis and other schools or the NBA as was the case with Al Jefferson. There are several players and recruits of the Razorbacks that hail from Sippi, why are they not playing there. Sippi has three times the pop. for basketball breeding than Ark.

[quote="SWAG"] If MS wasn't so football minded (and I am glad it is), there would be even more available talent from the Magnolia State.quote]

Then what the hell explains the pitiful state of D-1 football teams that hail from Sippi. I mean MY GOD Ark is lousy ya'll tell me but we own your asses recently and especially M-State in football. And when we get beat its usually a competative game, not a heres your ass, now get out of town affair.

The fact that they are paying good money for an outside consulting firm to help find a qualified coach tells plenty about the state of basketball at Oxford.

Do you talk to yourself in the shower?

Pitiful it is, but not because of the talent of high school players. Fact is our best leave to play at Bama, Florida, Tenn., and so on.

PML,

What sells better: a negative article trying to stir the pot or a postived one that offers no controversy. Everybody stops to see an accident on the interstate; no pays attention when traffic moves smoothly.

You can win at OM look at Rob Evans. The article was out of line. Why not include some "analyst" that disagree?

BTW, what's up with getting beat by Murray State? I promise I'm not trying to be a smartazz. Is it still a chemistry thing (trying to get everyone one the same page) or something else?

Pondman

UM has no pitching, and MSU's midweek guys could be there weekend starters.